A Failed Objective in the North Cascades

A season spent hiking and backpacking in the North Cascades wouldn’t be complete without at least one failed objective. After a pretty successful summer run, Alex and I experienced that failure on an attempt to make it to a pair of pretty alpine lakes nestled under Mt. Arriva and Fisher Peak. The final approach to the lakes is known to be pretty sketchy, with multiple route descriptions mentioning a “gully of death” and cautioning hikers to be careful about their route selection. Alex and I had a big traverse planned in the North Cascades over Labor Day weekend so we were looking for a route that would test us—a route that required boulder hopping, route-finding, and scrambling with a heavy overnight pack.

Backpacking Trips, North Cascades, WashingtonSonja SaxeSeptember 25, 2022

Photo Diary: Experiencing Summer at Hannegan Peak

Hannegan Peak is a destination that I’ve walked past multiple times now without truly considering visiting. Hannegan Peak is just one mile and 1,000 vertical feet from Hannegan Pass, a junction I have stood in four times. The first time was when Alex and I were hiking the Copper Ridge Loop in 2019. The second, third, and fourth times were all in 2021 when I was attempting to summit Ruth Mountain (we were successful on attempts one and three). So, for awhile it just seemed that other hikes in that area took precedence.

Backpacking Trips, North Cascades, Photo Diaries, WashingtonSonja SaxeSeptember 13, 2022

A Bucket List Trip in the North Cascades

Before Alex and I even moved to Washington, the Sahale Glacier Camp was at the top of our list of places we wanted to visit. Its sprawling views of the North Cascades and its unique campsites nestled in rock shelters at the base of the Sahale Glacier were enough to pique any backpacker’s interest. And piqued interest, it had. The backcountry permits for the camp are notoriously difficult to get.

Backpacking Trips, North Cascades, WashingtonSonja SaxeAugust 31, 2022 Comments

Ruby Redemption: Skiing Ruby Mountain in the North Cascades

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you may have noticed that trips and adventures don’t always go as planned and sometimes objectives require multiple attempts before we’re successful. This was the case for Ruby Mountain in the North Cascades. In May of 2021, Alex and I started our tour at the Happy Creek trailhead bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We knew the day ahead of us would be arduous but we felt we were adequately prepared both mentally and physically. It turns out we were wrong.

Backcountry Ski Trips, North Cascades, Washington, Winter TripsSonja SaxeMay 24, 2022 Comment

An Encounter with Icy Royalty in the North Cascades

The name Snowking Mountain elicits thoughts of icy royalty—a peak draped in a velvet robe of snow in an area that is so difficult to reach it feels as if it were guarded. Snowking resides in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, just on the outskirts of North Cascades National Park and while it may not be guarded in the literal sense, the route requires battling the terrain nearly every step of the way. In fact, one of the reasons this blog post has taken me nearly half a year to write is because of how shaken our experience on the trail left me.

Backpacking Trips, North Cascades, WashingtonSonja SaxeJanuary 11, 2022 Comment

Photo Diary: Ruth Mountain Summit Camp

In May, Alex and I attempted to climb Ruth Mountain with the goal to camp on the summit and ski off the following morning. However, if you’ve read my previous blog post you will know that due to snowy navigation difficulties, we did not make it to the summit to camp. We were eventually successful in summiting the following morning, however, we were stuck in a total whiteout. The inclement weather made for a disappointing summit experience and I returned home with a feeling of unfinished business.

North Cascades, Washington, Backpacking Trips, MountaineeringSonja SaxeJuly 26, 2021Comment

Skiing Ruth Mountain

I first saw Ruth Mountain in the summer of 2019 while Alex and I were hiking the Copper Ridge Loop. We were on the early stretches of the trail, making our way toward Hannegan Pass when a beautiful mountain face, its upper slopes still draped in snow in late summer, came into view. In my planning process for that hike I had been so fixated on the camp spots and other high points that I had entirely overlooked Ruth Mountain, but it was impossible to overlook on the trail, it dominated our views. As we got closer I said to Alex, “I’m pretty sure you can ski off that. We should do that!” 1.5 years later and we did just that!

Backcountry Ski Trips, North Cascades, Winter Trips, Washington, MountaineeringSonja SaxeJune 2, 2021Comment

A Fortress of Glaciers: The Mt. Baker Orbit

In late 2019 Alex and I signed up for a ski mountaineering course on Mt. Baker with Pro Guiding Service. After a few seasons of backcountry touring we were feeling limited by our lack of glacier travel and mountaineering skills. We had taken our AIARE 1 course and could travel and route find in the wintry backcountry, but we could not traverse onto the slopes of some of the more remote mountains in Washington because they were surrounded and covered by glaciers.

Backcountry Ski Trips, North Cascades, MountaineeringSonja SaxeApril 12, 2021Comment